Mark Bugnaski | Kalamazoo GazetteEmily Dayton, a Kalamazoo College senior, stands at the top landing to the new Hicks Center entrance.

KALAMAZOO -- Waterless urinals, recycled building material and wood paneling from a fast-growing tree are some of the features being added to Hicks Student Center in an effort officials hope will demonstrate Kalamazoo College's friendliness to the earth.

As part of the college's focus on environmental stewardship, officials are hoping that as part of a $14.6 million renovation Hicks will become the first certifiably "green" building in Kalamazoo.

If it does, the college will be able to thank students for some of the effort.
Builders are following Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines, which are set by the U.S. Green Building Council, in hopes of achieving LEED certification when the project is completed this spring or summer.

The standards translate into energy-efficient building techniques, such as making the walls a little thicker than normal in the dining hall and using more insulation to help keep the building warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Other features include water-saving measures such as the urinals and the use of recycled materials in the construction.

"You're going to see significant efficiency just on the level of insulation we've used," said Michele J. Wreggelsworth, project manager for Miller-Davis Co., which is handling the construction project.

Hicks, one of the prominent buildings surrounding K-College's campus quad, is considered the "family room for the students of the campus. Some place they could leave academics behind," said Paul Manstrom, director of facilities management. It also houses the dean of students and other services, now displaced, and provides lounging areas for students.

The cafeteria, dining hall and bookstore in Hicks were completed this month and are in use. The other wings are still under construction.

If certified, Hicks would be the first building in Kalamazoo to attain that status. However, the second floor of the United Building in downtown Kalamazoo, where architectural firm TowerPinkster is located, is LEED-certified as a commercial-interior project.

Kalamazoo Public Schools also plans to seek LEED certification for a new middle school scheduled to open for the 2009-10 school year.

Worldwide, the number of certified projects has grown from 38 in 2002 to 1,184 last year. There are now LEED projects in every state and in 26 countries, said Ashley Katz, communication coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council.

"The majority of certified projects are multi-use and commercial offices, but we're seeing growth in other market sectors as well, including schools (K-12 and higher ed), financial, heath care and retail," Katz wrote in an e-mail.

When it comes to going green, "the institutions in terms of higher learning are leaning strongly in that direction with any new buildings," said Joseph Veryser, associate dean of the college of architectural and design at Lawrence Technological University.

"Everybody is going for the bragging rights," he said.

At Kalamazoo College, the quest for LEED certification almost didn't happen.

With its certification process and stringent guidelines, Manstrom said college officials initially considered using LEED standards but set aside those plans because of the extra cost. Instead, a planning committee decided to incorporate "green" elements into the building but not seek certification.

Students, however, pushed the college's Board of Trustees, which persuaded administrators to dedicate more money to the project for the necessary environmental features. Ultimately, the push for LEED certification added an estimated $250,000 to the price tag.

K-College senior Emily Dayton said students "really wanted the college to step it up and have a way of holding them accountable to something and that LEED certification was kind of a guarantee."